Stoked, on a hot sunny day at Rincon reflecting on the waves he just found and which board to ride next. Photo: Aroyan

Rearranging the lip and putting it back on a rail, right back into it. Photo: Aroyan

Crispy sparkles of sunshine really defining the shape of the wave. Photo: Aroyan

Al Merrick with Kelly getting as deep in the shaping bay as you can without using the planer. It’s no surprise here that he started shaping a few of his own that worked really well. Al and Kelly’s relationship is like a tight-knit family formed from years of love and support. Photo: Aroyan

I sent Kelly a text photo shot through binoculars to give an accurate report on how good it was. Photo: Aroyan

An absolutely uninhabited beach except for the friends we went with and a couple of huge bait balls clearly defined by birds diving in every direction just outside the lineup. I swam for about thirty minutes before shooting the rest of the session from shore. Kelly drifted around and disappeared in all the good ones. Photo: Aroyan

Quiver check, deciding whether or not to pack bags for the Snapper contest and go for World Title #10. Photo: Aroyan

Slip sliding a tight arcing slash and holding a fine line. The speed blur really shows how all the energy is revolving around his center of gravity. Photo: Aroyan

Party time celebrating World Title #10 with Bret Dennon, Sal Masekela, Steve Zeldin and a few hundred close friends. Photo: Aroyan/lowtiderising.com

Signature slash through an empty lineup. Kelly free surfing without any one around is like an artist in his studio having the time of his life. Photo: Aroyan/lowtiderising.com

This was the first day I gave Kelly a ride home in 2007. After picking off one of the longest waves of the year, when he came in when it was dark. We didn’t have a meeting spot to find each other, but the crowd screaming his name lead me right to him. Photo: Aroyan/lowtiderising.com

Once I asked Kelly, “What kind of waves do you want to surf today?”

“Hollow barrels with no one out,” he responded.

That reply formed our continual search. I have shot a lot of sessions with Kelly Slater via video as well that are still in the archives. Hopefully, we’ll get them edited together at some point sooner than later.